Display apparatus



Nov. 11, 1941. u. Hu-rcHlNsoN DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed May 17, 1940 4Sheets-Sheet l VII/A Nov. l1, 1941. u. Hu-rcHlNsoN DISPLAY APPARATUS 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 17, 1940 3mm z/@ f,

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Nov. 1 1, 1941.

U. HUTCHINSON DISPLAY' APPARATUS 4 sheets-sheet s Filed May 17, 1940 Nov. 11, 1941. u. HuTcHlNsoN DISPLAY APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May17, 1940 Patented Nov. 11, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE l1 Claims.

This invention relates to display apparatus, and more particularly toapparatus for continuously and successively displaying a group ofseparate, independent cards.

The general object of the invention is to provide a device of thischaracter which shall be exceedingly simple in construction andeiiicient and reliable in operation.

To this end, I have devised mechanism comprising a single roller onlyfor elevating the rear card of the group, curving and moving it towardthe back of the cabinet, and then reversing its movement and depositingit at the front of the group.

A specific object of the invention is to provide improved cushion meansfor supporting the cards, so that the impact of the cards upon thiscushion means, as they successively drop into position at the front ofthe group, produces practically no noise or vibration.

In order that the invention may be readily understood, reference is hadto the accompanying drawings forming part of this specication, and inWhich- Figure 1 is a perspective View of my improved display apparatusas it appears when in use;

Figure 2 is a front elevation thereof on an enlarged scale, with thesides of the cabinet removed to show the mechanism, the cards beingomitted for the sake of clearness;

Figures 3 and 4 are elevations, respectively, of the two end frameswhich support the mechanism;

Figure 5 is a transverse section substantially on the line 5--5 ofFigure 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 6 is a similar view showing the parts in different positions;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through my improvedoperating roller; and

Figure 8 is a transverse section substantially on the line 8 8 of Figure2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings in detail, my improved apparatus comprises acasing or cabinet having a base plate I supported on suitable feet 2. Tothe ends of this base plate are secured similar upstanding end frames 3and 4, preferably formed of sheet metal and provided with peripheralfiange. The upper end of these end rames is curved or arcuate as shownin Figs. 3 and 4.

Secured to the outside of the end frames 3 and 4 and resting against theflanges thereof are cover plates 5 as clearly shown in Fig. l. thesecover plates being omitted from Fig. 2. The space between the end framesand cover plates and within the flanges of the end frames constitutes achamber or housing Within which parts of the mechanism hereinafterdescribed are enclosed.

Conforming with the contour of the cover plates 5 is a plate 6 having anarcuate or cylindrical portion .at the top and extending down at therear to constitute the back wall of the casing or cabinet as shown inFigs. 5 and 6.

At the front of the cabinet, this cover plate 6, which terminates at theend of the curved or arcuate portion is secured in position by means ofstuds engaging keyhole slots 6a in the ilanges in position by insertingits upper edge under the strip 8 and lifting it to a sufiicient extentto cause its lower edge to clear the strip 9, Whereupon it is dropped inbehind the strip 9. A notch l)a (Fig. 2) is provided into which a toolmay be inserted to raise the glass when it is desired to remove thesame.

In order to prevent the glass from rattling, I provide a pair ofplungers II operating `through openings in the anges of the end platesand pressed against the rear surface of the glass by means of leafsprings I2 secured to said flanges.

A chamber is provided Within the cabinet for supporting the cards to bedisplayed, such chamber comprising an inclined rear wall I3 (Figs. 5 and6) and a pair of supporting bars I5 extending between the end frames. Atthe bottom of this card chamber is .a cushion or resilient support onwhich the group of cards rests, this support being shown as comprising aheavy rubber band I4, held in position by pins I4, looped therethroughat each end and engaging the strip 9 and rear Wall I3, respectively.

Mounted in bearings I6 in the end frames and extending between the sameis a shaft Il carrying at one end a relatively large belt wheel I8. Anelectric motor I9, of any suitable type, is mounted on the base I of thecabinet with its shaft projectingthrough an opening in the end plate,and on such shaft is secured a pulley 20. A belt 2I passes around thewheel I8 and pulley 20 as shown in Fig. 3.

At its other end, the shaft I'I carries a pinion 22 meshing with a gearwheel 23 secured to a shaft 24 journalled in bearings 25 supported bythe end frames.

Pivoted to a Wrist pin 26 carried by the gear 23 is a link or connectingrod 2'I, the other end of which is pivoted to a pin 28 carried by atoothed segment 29 journalled upon a stud 30.

Meshing with the toothed segment or rack 29 is a pinion 3| secured to ashaft 32 mounted in suitable bearings and extending between the endframes.

Secured to the shaft 24 is a plurality of pushers or elevating devices,each comprising a disk 33 rigidly united with a segment 33a havingmarginal flanges 33b (see Figs. 2 and 8) which parts constitute a pocketin which is secured a segmental block 34 of resilient material such assponge rubber, the edge of which projects a substantial distance beyondthe periphery of the disk 33.

Rigidly secured to the shaft 32 as by means of heads 35, is a roller 36,preferably hollow as shown in Fig. '1, and fitted over the outside ofthis roller are a series of annular friction members 31, preferablyformed of resilient material such as sponge rubber and spaced apart bymeans of spacing rings 38. It may be noted in passing that it is notnecessary to positively secure the annular members 31 to the surface ofthe roller 36, because the friction due to the pressure upon them, ashereinafter described, will cause them to adhere to the roller.

The cards to be displayed are indicated at :6, and, as shown in Figs.and 6, are disposed on edge in a pack in an upright, slightly inclinedposition. In order to assist in guiding the cards as they aresuccessively deposited at the front of the pack or group as hereinafterdescribed, I provide a pair of guide fingers 39 pivoted at 40 to the endframe, and connected by a rod or bar 4I. As clearly shown in Figs. 5 and6, this rod or bar is eccentric to the pivots 40 and thus constitutes aweight tending to rotate the guide fingers 39 counter-clockwise aboutthe pivots 40 so as to cause their lower ends to yieldngly bear againstthe pack of cards. In order to facilitate placing the group of cards inposition in the' cabinet, I preferably provide a friction device in thenature of a lift spring 4I)a adapted to engage one of the guide fingers39 when swung forwardly and upwardly, and to temporarily retain it insuch inoperative position.

As will be seen by reference to Figs. 5 and 6, the roller carrying thefriction elements 31 is disposed adjacent the upper end of the group orpack of cards, and also relatively close to the rear wall of thecabinet.

Cooperating with the friction elements 31 is a stationary guide element42 in the nature of a piece of sheet metal extending between andsupported by the end frames. This guide element is arranged in closeproximity to the periphery of the friction elements 31 so as to form abite between itself and the surface of said elements. A portion of theguide element 42 is concentric with the roller 36 as indicated at 42a,while another portion of said element is substantially tangential tosaid concentric portion as indicated at 42h, said tangential portionoverhanging the upper end of the card group and extending substantiallyin the direction of the pivots 40. 1

A suitable stop device 43 is preferably secured to the inner side of therear wall or back of the cabinet in order to limit the downward movementof the cards as hereinafter described.

A suitable bracket 44 projects inwardly from one of the end frames nearthe top of the casing (see Fig. 2) and carries a lamp 45 forilluminating the display cards, current beingsupplied to said lamp bymeans of the conductor 46 (Fig. 3)

The operation of the mechanism will noviT be 5 the briefly described.Current being supplied to the motor I9, it drives the shaft I1 atreduced speed and, through the gears 22 and 23, rotates the shaft 24 atstill further reduced speed. As the gear 23 revolves, it operatesthrough the connecting rod 21 to oscillate the segmental toothed rack29, and this, in turn, results in rotating the pinion 3| and the roller36, first in one direction and then in the other. In the constructionshown, each stroke of the toothed rack serves to rotate the rollersomewhat more than two revolutions in each direction, although theextent of movement can, of course, be pre-determined as desired byvarying the relative sizes of the rack and pinion.

As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the group or pack of cards is disposed soclose to the shaft 24 that as this shaft revolves the friction shoe orpusher 34 will engage the rear card of the group and will elevate it asindicated in dotted lines in Fig. 5 until its upper edge enters the bitebetween the friction elements 31 and the guide element 42. (Forconvenience, the series of friction elements 31 themselves willhereinafter be referred to as ro11er.) Thereupon, the card will begrasped between the roller 31 and guide element 42 and curved over andpropelled toward and along the back or rear wall of the casing, asindicated by the dotted arrows in Fig. 5, the roller at this timerotating in the direction indicated by the full-line arrow.

After the roller has rotated sufficiently to cause the lower edge of thecard to clear the upper end of the group, as shown, for example, in fulllines in Fig. 6, the direction of rotation of the roller isautomatically reversed, while the card still remains in contacttherewith. This results in reversing the movement of the card andcausing it to travel in the direction of the dotted arrow in Fig. 6. ItWill be understood that the cards employed are of a resilient nature, sothat the lower end of the card after leaving the pack lies closelyagainst the under surface of the guide element 42 as shown in Fig. 6.Consequently, when the roller is reversed and begins to rotate in thedirection of the full-line arrow in Fig. 6, the lower edge of the cardfollows the guide 42 and is projected down between the guide fingers 39and the upper edge of the pack, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6. Theguide fingers 39 urge the card toward and against the pack, so that thecard lies flat thereagainst when it reaches its final position at thefront of the group. The card is propelled downwardly at considerablespeed by the roller 31 but its impact with the bottom of the chamber iscushioned by the resilient support I4 so that the operation of thedevice is extremely quiet.

It will, of course, be understood that, as the machine operatescontinuously, each rearmost card of the group is successively carriedup, over and around the roller 31 and deposited at the front of the packor group, the front card, of course, being visible through thetransparent panel I0.

By automatically reversing the roller 31 while the card is still graspedthereby, I am enabled to move the card in both directions by means of asingle roller, and this results in an extremely simple construction.

The cards do not ordinarily engage the stop 43, but if, for any reason,the card should tend to move too far, it will be arrested by this stop.

It will be noted that the cards are perfectly plain, free from anynotches, lugs, etc. They may be of any suitable material provided theyare, on the one hand, sti enough to stand on edge, and on the otherhand, flexible and resilient enough to withstand curving without beingpermanently deformed.

What I claim is:

1. A display device for continuously and successively exhibitingindividual members of a group of display cards disposed in uprightposition, comprising a casing having a chamber for the cards, means forelevating the rear card, means including a single roller only forcurving and propelling said rear card toward the back of the casinguntil its lower end has cleared the card group and for then reversingthe movement of said card, and means for guiding said card into saidchamber at the front of said card group.

2. A display device for continuously and successively exhibitingindividual members of a group of display cards disposed in uprightposition, comprising a casing having a chamber for the cards, means forelevating the rear card, and a single roller and stationary guide meanscooperating therewith for curving and propelling said rear card towardand along the back of the casing until its lower end has cleared thecard group and for then reversing the movement of said card anddepositing it in said chamber at the front of said card group.

3. A display device for continuously and successively exhibitingindividual members of a group of display cards disposed in uprightposition, comprising a casing having a chamber for the cards, a rollermounted adjacent the upper end of said card group, an elementcooperating with said roller to form a bite between itself and saidroller, means for elevating the rear card into said bite, and means forcausing said roller and element to first propel said card toward andalong the back of the casing until its lower end has cleared the cardgroup, and then reverse the movement of said card and deposit it in saidchamber at the front of said card group.

4. A display device for continuously and successively exhibitingindividual members of a group of display cards disposed in uprightposition, comprising a casing having a chamber for the cards, a rollermounted adjacent the upper end of said card group, a stationary guideelement disposed in close proximity to the surface of said roller, meansfor elevating the rear card into the space between said element androller, and means for causing said roller, in cooperation with saidguide element, to rst curve and propel said card toward and along theback of the casing until its lower end has cleared the card group. andthen reverse the movement of said card and deposit it in said chamber atthe front of said card group.

5. A display device for continuously and successively exhibitingindividual members of a group of display cards disposed in uprightposition, comprising a casing having a chamber for the cards, a rollermounted adjacent the upper end of said card group, a stationary guideelement having a portion concentric with said roller and in closeproximity to the surface thereof, and a portion tangential to roller andoverhanging said card group, means for elevating the rear card into thespace between said element and roller, and means for causing saidroller, in cooperation with said guide element, to rst curve and propelsaid card toward and along the back of the casing until its lower endhas cleared the card group, and then reverse the movement of said cardand deposit it in said chamber at the front of said card group.

6. A display device for continuously and successively exhibitingindividual members of a group of display cards disposed in uprightposition, comprising a casing having a chamber for the cards, a rollermounted adjacent the upper end of said card group, an elementcooperating with said roller to form a bite between itself and saidroller, means for elevating the rear card into said bite, means forfirst rotating said roller in one direction to cause it to propel saidcard up and over toward the back of the casing until after the loweredge has cleared said card group, and then automatically reversing itsdirection of rotation so as to cause it to move said card forwardly anddownwardly, and means for guiding said card into said chamber at thefront of said card group.

7. A display` device for continuously and successively exhibitingindividual members of a group of display cards disposed in uprightposition, comprising a casing having a chamber for the cards, means forelevating the rear card, means including a roller and means for drivingit in one direction for curving and propelling said rear card toward theback of the casing until its lower end has cleared the card group, meansfor then automatically reversing the direction of rotation of saidroller to reverse the movement of said card, and means for guiding saidcard into said chamber at the front of said card group.

8. A display device having a chamber for a group of independent displaycards supported on edge in an upright position whereby the front card ofsaid group is exhibited, a fixed guiding element and a single rollercooperating therewith, card elevating means, and means for causing saidelevating means and roller to successively and continuously raise therear card, reverse its movement, and deposit the same in said chamber atthe front of said group.

9. The combination with a pack of cards supported on edge in an uprightposition, of means for continuously and successively transferringindividual cards from one side of the pack to the other, said meansincluding a friction roller and a cooperating guide element and meansfor automatically driving said roller irst in one direction and then inthe other.

10. Card-feeding means comprising a friction roller and a cooperatingguide element, means for bringing a card from one position into contactwith said roller and guide element and simultaneously rotating saidroller, to move the card in one direction a pre-determined distance,means for then automatically reversing the rotation of said roller whilethe card is still in contact therewith, so as to move the card in theother direction, and means for guiding the card into another position.

11. Means for continuously transferring cards, one at a time, from oneside of a pack tothe other, said means comprising a friction roller anda stationary element cooperating therewith, means for successivelybringing the carols from one side of the pack into contact with saidroller, means for automatically driving said roller a denite number ofrevolutions alternately in opposite directions, so as to move each cardfirst away from the pack and then toward it, and means for guiding thecards to the iront of the pack as they move toward it.

'URIAH HUTCHINSON.

